Prenk Pervizi

Prenk Pervizi

Major General
Prenk Pervizi; Major General
	Italo-Greek War

Prenk Pervizi (4 May 1897 – 6 September 1977) was an

Albanian army, who also served as Minister of Defence for a short period during World War II

. Pervizi attended the Military Academy in

Greco-Italian War. He also opposed the German SS troops recruitment process in Albania. Bitter opponent of the communists, after failed attempts to engage some serious support from the British emissaries, he was forced to exile, first in Greece and later in Belgium

as a political refugee. He spent the rest of his life in Belgium, where he died at age 80, on 6 September 1977.

Biography

Family roots

The Pervizi family from Skuraj village in present-day

Vlore, by patriots led by Ismail Qemali

.

Born 4 May 1897 at Skuraj, Kurbin, Albania, Prenk Pervizi would go on to be considered a patriot, a military leader and a character of great significance and importance in the modern history of Albania.

Initial engagement

Coming out of

Ahmet Zogu, and they had known each other since his stay in Vienna and the participation in the Congress of Lushnjë (1920) where Zogu became minister. Pervizi also defended Zogu and the government during the Albanian Revolt of 1922, when guerrillas of Elez Isufi and Zija Dibra attempted to make a Coup d'État, marched down to Tirana and threatened to get control of the capital by force (8 March 1922). The intervention of Pervizi and his gendarme units saved Albania from a crisis that could have had disastrous consequences for the very existence of it. This action earned him a promotion to Captain of First Instance for war merits, and the "Gold Medal for Military Valor".^[2]

Service to Zogu

Pervizi was not able to thwart a subsequent coup d'état, which began 24 June 1924. Zogu with his government and the military loyal to him fled to Yugoslavia. This is known as the

June Revolution.
In December 1924 he took part in the operations that brought to power Ahmet Zogu and overthrew Fan Noli's government. Albania it was divided by Zog into four military zones and Pervizi was in charge along with the other three captains (Muharrem Bajraktari to the north, Fiqri Dine for the north-west, and Hysni Dema

to the south).

In November–December 1926, another rebellion had broken out in the Catholic regions of

Dukagjin, Shala, and Shod in the north Albania, allegedly supported by Yugoslavia to destabilize the country. The rebels were initially successful in blocking the army that had intervened against them, getting the local army commanders as prisoner. The rebels were preparing to attack and occupy Shkodra. At this point, Zogu called Pervizi giving full powers to quell the revolt. In three days the rebellion was quelled and its leaders Ndok Gjeloshi and Dom Loro Caka fled from Albania while others were arrested and prosecuted. This success expanded Pervizi's fame and influence in the army and the population.^[2]

Relations with Italy

Pervizi remained in friendly relations with the

Italian army, with the condition that he acquired Italian citizenship, which he did not accept and shortly after retired in Belgium.^[3]

The Italian invasion of Albania

On his return to Albania, he was in the "Commission of Foreign Observers" in the War of Ethiopia (1935–1936) where he had the opportunity to meet the General Badoglio, De Bono and Graziani, besides other senior officers including several alumni of the School of War. For this war, Pervizi wrote a very detailed report and held a number of conferences in Albania.^[3]

In August 1936, he represented Albania in a session of the Great Maneuvers of Italy in Irpinia, where he exchanged a few words with Benito Mussolini, who gave him to understand his intention to intervene in Albania. Pervizi went back and warned the King Zogu on intentions of Benito Mussolini. His avertiment fell into deaf ear. Ahmet Zogu was skeptical and did not give credence to the warning. On the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of Albanian independence (1937), Pervizi advanced to the rank of colonel and received the "Order of Besa", becoming also "Great Officer of the Order of the Crown of Italy". Strangely Colonel is transferred from Tirana to Korca city in the far south. A measure that awake 'much wonder in a time that Albania was in danger of military attack by Italian fascism of Mussolini.

When 1 April 1939,

Kingdom of Albania

. Pervizi was forced to defend the King and to follow him in Greece. The King begged him to talk to Albanians who had followed him and ordered him to return too. He apologized for not having him promoted to higher ranks, which at this juncture recognizes him. Now that it was over Zogu tried to repair the serious mistakes of not heeding the advice of his loyal friend and respected military figure.

Returned in Albania, Pervizi was convened by the Generals Alberto Pariani and Alfredo Guzzoni, asking him to adapt to the situation and explaining that they were not interested in losing the existing Albanian army. Pervizi showed himself available and requested that the Albanian army did not participate in any action against population alongside the Italian army. His request was accepted. He was formally given the rank of Colonel, as Italians were aware of his figure and patriotic influence and sympathy that he enjoyed in the army and the population, and they were afraid to give an excuse a discontent that could deteriorate into an armed rebellion.^[4]

The Italo-Greek War

On 28 October 1940 the Italian campaign in Greece began. Some battalions of the Albanian army were staged into the divisions "Venezia" and "Julia" with Pervizi representing the Albanian army at the high command of the operations.

Pervizi came into conflict with Italian generals who were making fun of the "poor quality of Albanian soldiers", based on the fact that an Albanian units had been decimated by the Greeks. Pervizi immediately returned to the headquarters and protested in the face of two generals Visconti Frasca and

military tribunal, but in the end, fearing further complications and worse consequences, the only proceeding was the transfer of Albanian soldiers in the mountains of the north while Pervizi got dislocated and isolated in the area of Puka. In the meantime, however, he was promoted to General, to calm the situation and the people. It loomed the unstoppable takeoff of Italy.^[2]

Pervizi was mentioned at the

Conference of Mukje in August 1943, where he was proposed as commander-in-chief of the Albanian army (acting as Minister of Defence), after the surrender of Italy on 8 September 1943.^[5]

German occupation

Pervizi moved to Shkodër as a simple counselor. On 8 September 1943, he resumed his old powers, taking over the command of General Dalmazzo. On 23 October, he was elected Minister of Defense and promoted to the rank of General of Division, thus enabling him to reform the Albanian army and strengthening the northern border to prevent attempts to re-annex Kosovo by Serbia. Partisans attacks led him to abandon Tirana in favor of the mountains, where he joined the British mission in Albania (August 1944) in its region of Kurbini (Skuraj) in an attempt to organize the struggle against the Communists.